On November 3, over 50,000 people completed the annual New York City Marathon. The marathon started in Staten Island, went over the Verrazano Bridge, traveled up through Brooklyn and into Queens, went to Manhattan via the Queensboro Bridge, proceeded into the Bronx using the Willis Avenue Bridge, went around and back into Manhattan over the Madison Avenue Bridge, and finished in Central Park. One of those 50,000 was Tim David-Lang, BSGE’s guidance counselor.
This was Tim’s first time running a marathon. One of the many ways to gain entrance to the NYC Marathon is by winning a lottery. Last year was the fourth time he entered, having failed the other three times. He won the lottery, but Hurricane Sandy canceled the race. When Tim learned that, he knew that it was the right thing to do, but a few weeks later, he started feeling disappointed that he wasn’t going to run that year. He was given the option to switch his entrance to this year, which he accepted.
Tim had been running for a long time, before he moved to New York from Spain. At first, he ran shorter distances and saw a marathon as something “amazing” but “impossible” to do. However, as he started running more and he became stronger, running a marathon seemed more and more doable. When he started preparing for the marathon, Tim used a New York Road Runners 16-week training plan. It was an easier plan than others for people who had never run a marathon before. He ran for four days a week and rested on the other three.
Tim described the experience of running the marathon as “incredible.” He said, “It was really amazing.” The uncertainty of if he would finish made him feel more accomplished when he finally did, he explained. Tim met his goal of finishing in four hours with a final time of 3:58:34. Next year, he will not try to run in the NYC marathon again. The odds of winning in the lottery are very slim. In future years, he may try to run other marathons, but nothing next year.
However, this July there is a 5K run/walk that Tim is involved in. He plans on gathering a training group from students and/or staff at BSGE, which will start in the Spring. Tim says that running is “incredibly energizing and fun. It’s a wonderful way to stay healthy and get stronger.” He also thinks that there is something very powerful about working towards and meeting goals. If you want to join the training group for the July 5K run/walk, do not hesitate to let Tim know.
The BACC Rag 